Five Web Technologies You Should Be Using

I’ve been developing Web applications for a few years now, and the pace at which things are evolving recently is mindblowing. All these new technologies, like HTML5 and WebGL, completely rewrite the book in how and what we can use the Web for.

Developers should be taking note of these technologies and utilizing them whenever possible. Not only that, but users should also be aware about what they could be missing out on if they didn’t know any better.

The following is a list of five Web technologies you probably shouldn’t avoid.

HTML5

Perhaps the most recognized of the new era of Web technologies, HTML5 is a tremendous step up from its predecessors. It introduces new elements that help better coordinate the work flow of your app or site. It also brings with it the video and audio elements, two huge additions that essentially allow you to build a site like YouTube without touching Flash. Aside from those, HTML5 also introduces the Canvas element, which will be discussed later.

Why you should use it:

Video and audio on webpages without the overhead or complexities of Flash.

Cross-document messaging — allows webpages to talk to one another, with a few catches to insure security.

Web storage — allows Web applications to store much more data locally than is possible with ordinary cookies.

AJAX

You know that magical moment when the content on a page seems to magically change without navigating to a new location, or when the content on the page updates in real-time? That’s called AJAX. Twitter is an excellent example of using AJAX to make your website feel smooth and polished. There are some drawbacks, however:

AJAX sites use JavaScript to load the content. If the user’s browser does not support JavaScript, or if JavaScript fails to find any content, your site is then broken in the eyes of the user.

Use a library such as jQuery to make AJAX requests easy and cross-compatible with the slight variations between browsers.

Canvas

Mentioned before, the Canvas element is a new face, brought to us by HTML5. Canvas allows for 2D rendering to a webpage, opening many possibilities in the way of more complex Web apps and even simple(ish) video games in the browser. Browsers have even been busy implementing hardware-acceleration for the Canvas element, making moderately intensive Canvas apps possible.

Why you should use it:

Video games in the browser, man!

Flash-less, meaning less overhead and much improved performance.

How you can use it:

Again, use a modern browser.

If you’re planning to go on a dedicated Flash game strike, favoring Canvas instead, perhaps you should consider investing in a decent GPU.

WebGL

A big step up from Canvas, WebGL brings some real graphics power to the browser. If you want to build a serious game or graphics-intensive Web app, WebGL is your pal here. For developers familiar with OpenGL, the essentially equivalent API will be appreciated.

Why you should use it:

Again, video games in the browser, man!

Bring the power of OpenGL to the browser.

How you can use it:

For the final time, make sure you’re using a modern browser.

Just like Canvas, you should probably have a decent GPU if you want to get serious about WebGL.

For Developers:

Learning WebGL has decent tutorials and links to lots of cool stuff built using WebGL.

Investigate GLGE if you want to dive in creating games in the browser versus learning the specifics of WebGL.

Fin

So there you have it: five Web technologies as well as reasons and links for using them. Perhaps you’re a Web developer and you already knew about these things? Leave a comment to let us know about a technology you think should be worth checking out.